Breathing

A major transformation in vertebrate evolution took place when breathing shifted from being driven by head and throat muscles—like in fish and frogs—to the torso—like in reptiles and mammals. But what caused the shift? A new study posits that the intermediate step was locomotion—the mechanics follow the same pattern as inhalation and exhalation.

Emergency Medicine and Trauma Surgery researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are joining the Nashville Fire Department and nearly two dozen emergency medical service agencies across the country in a Department of Defense (DOD)-funded clinical trial aimed at improving survival with breathing techniques used to keep patients alive at the scene of a trauma.

Dec. 6, 2019 – Reductions in air pollution yielded fast and dramatic impacts on health-outcomes, as well as decreases in all-cause morbidity, according to findings in “Health Benefits of Air Pollution Reduction,” new research published in the American Thoracic Society’s journal, Annals of the American Thoracic Society.